Tyrese Haliburton and The Indiana Pacers Are The Most Exciting Team In Basketball
While NBA headlines are often dominated by the biggest markets and the faces of the league, the best basketball entertainment might be hiding in the seemingly modest Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Indiana Pacers have kicked off the year with a strong 7–4 start, securing impressive wins against other Eastern Conference elites like Philadelphia and Milwaukee. Their success is entirely built on having the league’s best offense, led by the emerging superstar guard, Tyrese Haliburton. From his days as a draft prospect, Haliburton was always lauded for his ultra-efficient play, both as a facilitator and scorer, and this reputation has certainly held up throughout his young career. Tyrese maintains career averages near 50/40/90 shooting splits with a 3.5 AST/TO ratio. However, this year, we’ve witnessed his abilities elevated to an entirely different level.
Halliburton is one of the most heliocentric players in basketball, assisting nearly 50% of his teammates’ made shots and boasting a plus 30% usage rate. Teams structured like the Pacers often face challenges when relying heavily on one player, but Indiana not only makes it work but excels at the highest level. This success is due to Haliburton’s largely mistake-free play style, as he is an above-average to elite shooter from everywhere on the court and maintains a sub-10% turnover percentage. This was highlighted in his recent 2-game stretch where he accumulated 32 assists without giving away the basketball once. While Tyrese has always had the capability to reach these heights, we are now witnessing what happens when a team fully leans into his strengths and gives him the keys.
Indiana is second in the league in pace, leading to many comparisons with the infamous “7 seconds or less” Phoenix Suns. While there are differences between these two teams, the comparison between their playstyles and between Steve Nash and Tyrese Haliburton is prevalent. During Team USA’s summer stint, we glimpsed how much more effective they were when allowing Haliburton to play at a high pace. Head coach Steve Kerr commented, “He’s like a quarterback who’s finding five different receivers, and then if there’s no pass rush, he’ll just line up his set shot and knock it down.” Kerr continued, “He’s really a unique player and a beautiful player to watch and obviously very effective.” In his first seasons in the league, we saw good moments and stretches, but now we see that he is a powerful enough offensive engine to be firmly in MVP talks. There’s no reason why he can’t win an MVP or two, just as Nash did with Phoenix.
Similar to how Phoenix built the perfect roster around Nash to maximize his abilities as a lead guard, the Pacers have done just that. Indiana pairs their uptempo style of play with being one of the elite shooting rosters, a deadly combination. Including Haliburton, this roster has five players hovering around 40% from outside, all on high volume. This accumulation results in them being 6th in frequency and 3rd in accuracy from deep. Paired with their elite 3-point shooting, the Pacers have also made sure to accumulate plenty of wings who can slash and bigs who can catch pinpoint accurate lobs from Tyrese. This roster construction allows Indiana to be the only team landing in the top 10 for rim and 3-point frequency, an obviously efficient recipe for offensive production. They are the very best team in Loc eFG%, a stat that simplifies who is taking the most efficient shots regardless of how they are converting on those looks.
The Pacers are far from a dominant team, but that plays into why they are as entertaining as they are. While eventually having the 27th ranked defense will catch up to them in a playoff series against a team like Boston or Philadelphia, both still elite offenses but far more well-rounded, it will undoubtedly lead to great results in the regular season and consistently exciting games. Nearly every night, the Pacers are in a thrilling shootout, but they will never get the full attention they deserve due to the small market they find themselves in. So, if you catch Indiana on league pass, please tune in. I promise you will not leave the game disappointed. Tyrese Haliburton and this team deserve all your attention, so start giving it to them.
